Novena to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Queen of the Most Holy Rosary
By Father Joseph Cacella, 1947
SEVENTH DAY
Intention: “Forgiveness of Sin”
Oh Immaculate Heart of Mary, Refuge of Sinners, to whom else will we turn in our sorrow for sin, if not to thee. From whom shall we find comfort and consolation, in the shame of our sins, except from thee? Lead us back, dear Mother of Love, to the path of righteousness which leads to the Sacred Heart of thy Divine Son. We have sinned often, oh dear Mother and the remembrances of the errors of our ways troubles us. It shall be no more. We know that thy protecting care, will find peace and hope for us and the remission of our sins. We know too that as with Mary Magdalene of old, thy Son shall welcome us with a loving smile because, you have always pleaded for us. Amen.
Our Lady of Fatima, Refuge of sinners, inflame our hearts with the love of Sorrow, Repentance, Penance and Reparation.
We pray our Daily Rosary now with the same Intention: Sorrow, Repentance, Penance and Reparation.
Thought for the Day – 4 October – Meditations with Antonio Cardinal Bacci (1881-1971)
“Month of the Holy Rosary” The Second Joyful Mystery Mary’s Visit to St Elizabeth
“As soon as Mary entered her cousin’s house, Elizabeth was inspired by the Holy Spirit and felt the infant in her womb, leaping with joy in the presence of Jesus and His Mother. “Blessed art thou amongst women,” she cried out, “and blessed is the fruit of thy wom! And how have I deserved that the Mother of my Lord, should come to me?” (Lk 1:42-43). Then, the Blessed Virgin, in her joy and gratitude, gave utterance to the Magnificat. This expression of her happiness, was interwoven, however, with sentiments of deep humility.
“My soul magnifies the Lord and my spirit rejoices in God, my Saviour. For He has regarded the humility of His handmaid, for behold, henceforth, all generations shall call me blessed. Because He Who is Mighty, has done great things for me and holy is His Name. And His Mercy is from generation to generation on those who fear Him. He has shown might with His Arm, He has scattered the proud in the conceit of their heart. He has put down the mighty from their thrones and has exalted the lowly. He has filled the hungry with good things and the rich He has sent away empty. He has given help to Israel, His servant, mindful of His Mercy – even as He spoke to our fathers – to Abraham and to his posterity forever.” (Lk 1:46-55).
If, at that moment, they could have heard the words of this poor and unknown girl, what would the might Emperor Caesar Augustus, or the petty King, Herod, have said? Yet history is there to demonstrate the astounding truth of these prophetic words. Generations of yesterday and of today, have bowed in reverence before this simple maiden, while one after another rulers, have been tumbling from their thrones!
Let us honour the Blessed Virgin too and learn from her, to love humility and holiness.”
One Minute Reflection – 4 October – St Francis of Assisi OFM (c 1181–1226) Confessor, Founder – Galatians 6:14-18, Matthew 11:25-30 Scripture Search here: https://www.drbo.org/
“Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and humble of heart and you will find rest for your souls…” – Matthew 11:29
REFLECTION – “You are to “take my yoke upon you and learn from me.” You are not learning from me how to refashion the fabric of the world, nor to create all things visible and invisible, nor to work miracles and raise the dead. Rather, you are simply learning of me: “that I am meek and lowly in heart.”
If you wish to reach high, then begin at the lowest level. If you are trying to construct some mighty edifice in height, you will begin with the lowest foundation. This is humility. However great the mass of the building you may wish to design or erect, the taller the building is to be, the deeper you will dig the foundation. The building in the course of its erection, rises up high but he who digs its foundation, must first go down very low. So then, you see even a building is low before it is high and the tower is raised, only after humiliation.”… St Augustine(354-430) Father & Doctor (Sermon 69)
PRAYER – O God, Who by the good works of blessed Francis enriched Thy Church by establishing a new religious family, grant us to imitate him by emulation of him, by looking upon the things of earth as nought and ever to rejoice in sharing Thy heavenly gifts. ThroughJesus Christ, Thy Son our Lord, Who lives and reigns with Thee, in the unity of the Holy Ghost, God, world without end. Amen (Collect).
Our Morning Offering – 4 October – St Francis of Assisi OFM (c 1181–1226) Confessor, Founder
Lord, Make Me an Instrument of Thy Peace. “The Peace Prayer” By St Francis of Assisi (c 1181–1226
Lord, make me an instrument of Thy peace. Where there is hatred, let me sow love; where there is injury, pardon; where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness, light and where there is sadness, joy. O Divine Master, grant that I may not so much seek to be consoled, as to console; to be understood, as to understand; to be loved, as to love; for it is in giving that we receive; it is in pardoning that we are pardoned and it is in dying, that we are born to eternal life. Amen
Saint of the Day – 4 October – St Francis of Assisi OFM (c 1181–1226)
An Excerpt from The Little Flowers of St Francis of Assisi Translated from the 14th Century Fioretti (1905)
“In this book are contained certain little Flowers, namely, miracles and devout examples of the glorious poor Little One of Christ, St Francis and of some of his holy companions, to the praise of Jesus Christ. Amen.
In the first place, let us consider how the glorious St Francis, in all the acts of his life, was conformed to the life of that blessed Christ; that, as Christ in the beginning of His preaching elected twelve Apostles that they should despise every worldly thing and follow Him in poverty and in all virtues, so St Francis, for the founding of his Order, elected, in the beginning, twelve companions, who were to be possessors of nothing but an entire poverty.
And, as one of the twelve Apostles of Christ, rejected by God for his infidelity, finally strangled himself, so also, one of the twelve companions of St Francis, who was called Brother John della Capella, apostatised and finally, hanged himself in like manner. And this is to the elect, a great warning and a matter of humility and of fear, to cause them to remember that no-one is certain, to persevere to the end, in the grace of God.
As the blessed Apostles were wholly marvellous for sanctity and humility and full of the Holy Ghost, so the blessed companions of St Francis were men of such great sanctity that, since the time of the Apostles, the world had not seen the like; since one of them, like St Paul, was taken up into the third heaven and this was Brother Giles; another of them, namely Brother Filippo Longo, was touched on the lips by an angel, like the Prophet Isaias, with a coal of fire; another of them and this was Brother Silvester, spoke with God, as one friend with another, after the manner of Moses; another, by the purity of his soul, flew up to the light of the Divine Wisdom, like the eagle, St John the Evangelist and this was the most humble Brother Bernard, who explained, most profoundly, Holy Writ and another was sanctified by God and canonised in Heaven whilst still living on earth and this was Brother Ruffino, who was a gentleman of Assisi. And so were they all privileged with remarkable signs of holiness, as will be declared in the sequel . . .” –page 1 – 2
St Aurea St Berenice St Caius of Corinth St Callisthene of Ephesus St Crispus of Corinth St Damaris of Athens St Diogenes of Milan St Domnina St Hierotheus Bl Julian Majali St Lucius of Alexandria St Peter of Damascus
Martyrs of Alexandria: A group of Christians, men and women, young and old, murdered together for their faith. The only names that have come down to us are the brothers Mark and Marcian.
AnaStpaul 
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